Beyond the Ghost is a despondent, snow-laden dark ambient project helmed by France denizen Pierre Laplace. At the beginning of September 2019, he made his debut on the Cryo Chamber label with his album You Disappeared. Well before this project of his came to exist, Pierre sharpened his teeth on a variety of other endeavors. For ten years, he helmed the experimental rock band Vera Clouzot, and in years subsequent, he released two solo acoustic albums under the moniker of Kenyon. Additionally, he comprises one half of the atmospheric folk duo, The Sandman’s Orchestra, alongside his niece. This project has existed since about 2011 and it continues to exist, now in tandem with Beyond the Ghost.

Pierre’s musical background is worth noting as You Disappeared exudes an uncanny mosaic of emotions from a glacial dreamworld. Through his previous projects, he has experimented with a plethora of sonic textures and this has been further bolstered by his knack for picking up and learning a medley of instruments. His singing voice, guitar, keyboards, piano, electronic beats, banjo, and kalimba, are but several of many Pierre has imbued within his Sandman Orchestra compositions. And though many of the aforementioned instruments do not make an appearance in You Disappeared, his seasoned approach to composing wonderfully deep soundscapes is felt throughout its duration.

You Disappeared embodies the astral plane of the afterlife. We are in search of a woman unnamed and it is her disappearance that weighs upon our hearts. Guitar melodies percolate and somber piano notes pulsate between windswept spires forever vacant. Frigid drones ceaselessly bite, overwhelming us with isolation. But like a hefty jacket with an abundance of layers tightly wrapping our skin, we sometimes feel warm despite the lacerating winds. Pierre crafts a forlorn expanse that blurs the veil between synthetic and organic. Though what we see is most certainly a shimmer in our dreariest dreams, you can’t help but feel that this unknown city exists, be it sometime in humanity’s past, present, or within ourselves. We had many words to exchange about this poignant dark ambient piece and we sincerely hope you enjoy our discussion of it. Thank you for listening.